This year’s trade deadline was one for the ages, with a total of 8 current or former all-stars getting traded.
In a historic blockbuster trade, the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris from the Mavericks, who received Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick. What makes the trade even more unbelievable is that Dallas initiated the trade. They willingly gave up their franchise player without even making an attempt to shop around the league for value. The Mavericks were concerned with Doncic’s physical condition; his weight has allegedly reached 270 pounds and he only played 22 games with Dallas this season. Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison said, “I believe that defense wins championships,” justifying the shocking trade. Harrison has faced intense animosity and criticism from Mavericks fans as well as NBA journalists respectively. Right on cue, in his Mavericks debut, Anthony Davis suffered an adductor strain, which will sideline him for multiple weeks. Shortly thereafter, Kyrie Irving submitted a trade request— everything seems to have fallen apart for the Dallas Mavericks.
On the other hand, Lakers fans have every reason to be happy; they just got Luka Doncic, their franchise player, for the next decade. However, after trading away five-time NBA All-Defensive Team player Anthony Davis, the Lakers need a center now more than ever. They thought that they had found a replacement in Mark Williams, but the trade was rescinded after Williams failed his physical, which is plausible given his injury history; in his first three seasons, he has only played 85 games.
In a 3-team trade, the Kings dealt away their All-NBA point guard De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs in exchange for Zach Lavine, Sidy Cissoko, 3 first-round picks, and 3 second-round picks. The Bulls got Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, Tre Jones, and a 2025 Spurs first-round pick as well in the trade. The Bulls have been trying to trade away Zach Lavine for two years and are finally able to enter the rebuilding phase after years of mediocrity. While the Kings lost one of the best players in their franchise’s history, they got back a load of assets, including a 24 point-per-game scorer in Lavine, and are able to maintain a solid roster to support their best player, Domantas Sabonis. The real winner of this trade is the Spurs because they get a star point guard to pair with their rising superstar Victor Wembanyama.
After forcing his way out of Miami, Jimmy Butler finally got traded in a massive 5-team trade, which included sending Jimmy Butler and 2 second-round picks to the Warriors. Butler will be paired up with Steph Curry and keep their championship hopes afloat and will fit right in with the Warriors team bringing some defensive intensity at the wing position as well as some secondary scoring next to Curry. In return for Jimmy Butler, the Heat got Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchel, Kyle Anderson, and a protected first-round pick. This is a decent return for the Heat due to their circumstances with being forced to trade the aging star away. Despite taking a massive step down from his all-star appearance in 2022, Andrew Wiggins is still a serviceable role player and should pair well with Tyler Hero and Bam Adebayo. P.J. Tucker gets traded for the 3rd time this deadline and ends up with the raptors. The Jazz get Josh Richardson, K.J Martin, and two seconds. And finally, the Pistons received Dennis Schroder, Lindy Waters, and a second which should improve their roster ahead of their playoff push in the Eastern Conference.
